Coudal Partners

Michael Wolf

Today we feature the work of Michael Wolf. A German photographer living and working in China for the last ten years, Wolf has created a series of ambitious, thoughtful projects, like his Sitting in China: The Bastard Chairs. His latest, sampled here, is The Architecture of Density, an amazing series of pictures that through architectural geometry and sheer scale (Hong Kong's population density is 6,700 people per square kilometer) paint perfectly balanced compositions from the daily living conditions of thousands of individuals. The introduction to a showing at the Robert Koch Galleries says of Wolf's new series that "his vision has evolved to evaluate the high-rises that shape the spatial experience of Hong Kong's citizens. Wolf finds in each building a singular character, despite its functional purpose and massive form."

Michael Wolf about the project, "I have always been facinated by the organic quality of the buildings in Hong Kong. Because of the lack of living space, people must utilise
every last centimeter available to them, including the outside walls of their appartments. It's amazing what one can see there - shovels, cooking pots, orange peels, umbrellas. On one facade, I once counted 52 mops hanging out to dry. This is what makes much of the architecture in Hong Kong so interesting to me, the ever changing facades of the buildings and what they reveal about the inhabitants."

During a string of Fridays we featured a single work from a photographer, with a link to his or her
online portfolio and a few words.